​Satoko Barashsoda fired ceramics

Satoko’s Soda Kiln

Salt firing dates back to mid-fourteenth century Germany when salt-impregnated wood was used for firing, taken from barrels formerly used for storing salt herring. An attractive natural glaze forms when salt or soda chemically interacts with the clay at high temperature.

I spray 3 lbs of soda ash mixed with hot water 12 times each in four different soda ports, for over 90 minutes, when the temperature of the kiln is around 2200 degrees. I also place about 20 salt cups here and there on shelves in “dry” spots of the kiln, where the soda vapor doesn't reach well. I also use the same salt cup method to decorate certain parts of my pottery by placing the salt right next to a piece. I use about 12 ounces of rock-salt in a firing. The firing continues till the temperature reaches about 2350 degrees, but the decision to shut off the kiln is guided by the movement of the colored cones pictured in the lower right corner of the photograph above.

The result is a combination of a salt glazing with some orange peeling texture, but more even yellow/orange color in small parts of the kiln and more dramatic and directional soda surfaces in the majority of the kiln. My soda kiln is fuel by propane gas, but I add wood right after I spray soda for a prolonged heavier reduction atmosphere in the kiln to achieve deeper orange and dramatic vapor pattern form the flashing slip on the surface of each pottery. ​

Making utilitarian and artistic ceramics, I enjoy exploring the infinite variety of texture and color attainable through the malleable process of fabrication and firing. I like to incorporate a style of simple elegance and the hand made quality in my work. I, native Japanese, met my husband in New Zealand. He persuaded me to continue my art in the U.S. where we now share a home in Mendocino County, California. I have a studio and a hard-brick soda kiln at home and receive help and inspiration from friends, my seventeen-year-old daughter and my loving husband.